An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label that is assigned to devices participating in a computer network, that uses the Internet Protocol for communication between its nodes. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing. Its role has been characterized as follows: 'A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route indicates how to get there.' The Internet Protocol is used to route data packets between networks; IP addresses specify the locations of the source and destination nodes in the topology of the routing system. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which manages the IP address space allocations globally, cooperates with five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) to allocate IP address blocks to Local Internet Registries (Internet service providers) and other entities.